Stormy Weather

My favorite season is Spring.  

It feels nice with a gentle breeze but not so hot, because it’s before Summer and it gets too hot outside here in Charleston. The flowers start to bloom and it’s very pretty. My favorite flower is honeysuckle because it smells so sweet. You can eat the drops of nectar if you take the tips of the flower off. I don’t really eat it, but I enjoy smelling it. 

I enjoy the sunshine. It brightens my day. 

The sun gives you vitamins—Vitamin D so that I can absorb Vitamin C! The sun feels good as long as you don’t stay in it too long. Cause when you stay too long, you get burnt and skin peels off. I love going to Florida to get my sunshine—It is the Sunshine State after all—the Keys, more so than Orlando—that's the end of the Earth sun! That’s my favorite place to soak in the rays... I love to go swimming in the ocean there because it’s so clear and cool and I can see everything. 

Least favorite weather would have to be when it’s cold—it's alright to have cold, but not too much cold. You can get storms and snow. Oh, I like snow, but I wouldn’t want a lot of it. It’s fun when it’s here for a little while, but I need it to go away. Once when it snowed, before it melted, we went to play with the snow on the street and had a snowball fight. That was a lot of fun! But there wasn’t enough snow to build a snowman... 

Thunderstorms scare me...  

I know it’s only lightening, but I do get nervous. I listen to music or watch tv. If the power goes out, I get my sad little cup that has lights on it... for those of you who don’t know what this is... please see exhibit A— EXHIBIT A: Halloween Horror Nights Glass that is multicolored and lights up when you push the button on the bottom! This soothes me because of all the flashing colors... especially when I can’t find a flashlight. 

There has been some really bad weather. 

Some of the worst weather I’ve been in were hurricanes.  

During Hurricane David I got pushed out in the rain—I thought the rain would be freezing but it wasn’t that cold. They locked me outside as a joke and I wasn’t laughing at the time... now, I do. We were just playing in general, opening and closing the door. Mom said she wanted me to see something and she jokingly pushed me outside, locking the door afterward. When I came back in, I was soaked from head to toe.  

But when a more severe hurricane came—Hurricane Hugo—I couldn’t do anything except play my radio. Then we lost power and I could only listen to the transistor radio. Being in the dark and not being able to go anywhere was scary. After a little while (after the hurricane hit), we had some people bring generators in (my uncle Ronnie brought us one).  

Afterward, things were a little strange. It took 20 or more days for power to be restored—it felt like so many more! Now, it’s easier to prepare for hurricanes. We stock up on everything that is needed: batteries, flashlights, candles and my London light (in John speak) -- it’s basically a flashlight with a handle—a lantern.  

I watch the weather channel to see how the storm is progressing and to see where it’s going—where it might or might not hit. I feel like I know where it’s going to go—I have a sense that sometimes it will come and sometimes it won’t come. I just have a feeling—mainly in my head—like sometimes the storm will be big or die down a bit and where it will grasp up water and build back up. I’m right most of the time. I’ve been right 2 out of 3 times! 

If bad weather is coming for someone—I would tell them to stay safe, keep focused and don’t worry! 

But... if I could go anywhere in the world to see any season, I would go to Japan to see the Cherry Blossoms in the Spring. 

~ John Joyner